A Small Town Girl Exploring the World

FYI…Black In Latin America

If you get a chance, please check out Black in Latin America. It is a four-part series on the influence of African descent on Latin America produced by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I have enjoyed and learned so much viewing this program.

Black In Latin America airs nationally Tuesdays April 19, 26 and May 3, 10, 2011 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). You can also watch the full episodes on-line. The segments examines how Africa and Europe came together to create the rich cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean. The four parts focus on:

Haiti & the Dominican Republic: An Island Divided

Cuba: The Next Revolution In Cuba

Brazil: A Racial Paradise?

Mexico & Peru: A Hidden Race In Mexico and Peru

Professor Gates discovers a shared legacy of colonialism and slavery, vivid stories and people marked by African roots. Latin America and the Caribbean have the largest concentration of people with African ancestry outside Africa — up to 70% of the population in some countries. The region imported over ten times as many slaves as the United States, and kept them in bondage far longer. On this series of journeys, Professor Gates celebrates the massive influence of millions of people of African descent on the history and culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, and considers why and how their contribution is often forgotten or ignored.

Black in Latin America is the third of a trilogy that began in 1999 with the broadcast of Professor Gates first series for public television, Wonders of the African World, an exploration of the relationship between Africa and the New World, a story he continued in 2004 with America Beyond the Color Line, a report on the lives of modern-day African-Americans.

Lastly, I want to give a shout out to my Honey’s family. This morning, his sister and brother-in-law welcomed into the world a beautiful baby girl. And Happy Birthday to Mama-Emeka on tomorrow (4/28). Peace and continued blessings to the family.